Rutgers legend Carli Lloyd disappointed by school's plight, says it will bounce back

By Cody Exter, For The Trentonian

Sunday, June 9, 2013

PISCATAWAY — Carli Lloyd was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni earlier this year for her excellence on the soccer pitch as both a Scarlet Knight, and as a standout on the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Lloyd returned to her alma mater Saturday night as a member of the Western New York Flash, a club competing in the inaugural season of the National Women’s Soccer League, to face New Jersey-based SkyBlue FC, which plays its home games at Yurcak Field.

The Flash won, 3-0, with Lloyd getting on the score sheet late in the first half.

Afterward she spoke about Rutgers’ recent troubles, stemming from the dismissal of men’s head basketball coach Mike Rice and subsequent resignation of athletic director Tim Pernetti.

“It’s a shame,” said Lloyd, who left Rutgers as the program’s all-time leader in points, goals and game-winning goals and was a four-time All-Big East selection. “We don’t want to be in the press that way.”

Though Pernetti began at Rutgers after Lloyd had graduated, she was supportive of him, and said that he was extremely helpful when she returned to campus as an inductee into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

“It’s sad to see that Tim is no longer here,” she said, echoing the feelings of many other Rutgers alumni. “I think he was really good for the program.”

Lloyd is confident, however, that the school is capable of getting back on the right track.

“Everything will get sorted out and things will calm down,” she said.

On the field, Lloyd is still working her way back to full fitness following an injury that kept her out of the first quarter of the season.

Lloyd’s return to Rutgers marked just her fourth game as a member of the Flash. She broke a bone in her left shoulder in the U.S.’s opening match of the 2013 Algarve Cup in Portugal in March.

The injury sidelined her for two months, and she has been working her way back into form with her new team.

“I’m getting some 90 (minute) games in,” said Lloyd of her return to match play. “I feel that my game fitness has improved. I’m feeling better and better with each game.”

Lloyd has been enjoying playing with a new set of teammates.

“It’s been great to get to know everyone’s tendencies and how people play,” she said. “I think we’ve got some great players on our team.”

Though Lloyd is the newest member of the club, she is quite familiar with the Flash’s leading goal scorer, Abby Wambach. The talismanic striker is the second highest goal scorer in the history of the USWNT, and she and Lloyd have been playing side-by-side since the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Wambach also recorded a goal in the Flash’s victory on Saturday night.

“Abby and I have a really good understanding of how we play,” Lloyd said of her relationship with Wambach.

The two do their best to balance time between the Flash and the USWNT. On June 2, Lloyd and Wambach propelled the U.S. to a 3-0 win over Canada — the first meeting between the two countries since the Americans’ controversial victory in the Olympic semifinals — in the Centennial Celebration Match.

“I think that playing on (the Flash) is making us better for the National Team as well because we are playing together so much,” Lloyd said. “I can always count on Abby being there as that target player.”

Lloyd, a Delran native, is most known for her post-Rutgers résumé.

As a member of the national team, Lloyd scored game-winning goals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medal matches. She is the only woman in Olympic history to score the game-winning goal in two separate gold medal games.

Saturday night was a chance for her to return to her old stomping ground — a place where she was named 2004 Big East Midfielder of the Year.

And even amidst Rutgers’ troubles; it’s always nice to come home.

“It’s great, I really enjoy it,” said Lloyd with a smile. “The field couldn’t have been any better than it was tonight. There is nothing better than playing on a grass field.”